Hoping to capitalize on a boom in natural gas production, a Virginia-based energy company is submitting a 12,000-page application to federal regulators to build a $3.4 billion plant in southern Maryland to export liquefied natural gas. Richmond, Va.-based Dominion Resources Inc. also announced Monday it has deals in place with energy companies in Japan and India to buy the gas that would be processed there.
Dominion wants to expand its existing Cove Point plant in Lusby, Md., to produce liquefied natural gas for export. The facility—already served by 88 miles of pipeline—would take advantage of the natural gas boom in the mid-Atlantic associated with the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.
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| Old Dominion Gas Docks floats over Bay in mirage |
Of course, to say as a blanket statement that "environmentalists" oppose the expansion is a vast oversimplification. Many "environmentalists" see natural gas as an important clean and relatively low carbon fuel to replace coal, which is dirty even in it's clean forms, and a bridge to the future of renewable energy.
Exporting gas allows it to be sold at a much higher price than on the domestic market, where gas is more abundant.Some consumer advocates have opposed large-scale exportation of natural gas, saying it reduces the domestic supply and therefore increases prices for U.S. customers.
Environmentalists also oppose the plan, fearing harm to the Chesapeake Bay from pollution at the plant and raising concerns about wasted energy in chilling the gas to a liquid for exportation. More broadly, environmentalists are concerned about the environmental impact from the process by which gas is extracted—called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves blasting mixtures of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to stimulate the release of gas.
Needless to say, I'm in favor of the expansion. They won't let me fish there any more anyway, so they might as well use it.
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